FOOD & INSECT ALLERGIES POSE FATAL RISK BUT NEW RESEARCH AND PREVENTATIVE PRODUCTS OFFER HOPE FOR SOME.
RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. (July 6, 2006) – Recent news reports of death-inducing allergies, from peanuts, bees, fire ants and other causes pose an increased threat among the unaware, according to the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (AAAAI). For reasons unknown, the peanut-allergy, especially, has posed an increased threat that is difficult to control. Research has found that peanut allergies have doubled in industrialized countries in the past decade. Stories of teenagers indirectly exposed to peanuts and coming close to death, or even dying, remind the public that the threat is constant and sometimes incontrollable. One such example threatened the life of teenager Aly Young, at a Toronto Maple Leafs game. Seated behind her at the game was a couple cracking fresh peanuts out of their shells. Although not ingested, the proximity to the peanuts caused Young to break out in hives and lose her breath. On-site medical professionals stepped in to provide oxygen but she was already fighting anaphylactic shock, and had to be rushed to a hospital.
Much like bee or wasp stings, there is little to nothing that can be done to thwart these dangers. Avoidance is the easiest combat: knowing you are allergic and keeping a close watch while outdoors and in public places will help prevent allergic reactions. “Food allergies have no cure and the only effective treatment to counter anaphylaxis, a life-threatening reaction that can strike multiple systems of the body within minutes, is a speedy injection of the hormone epinephrine, or adrenaline. Known generally by the brand names EpiPen and Twinject, the drug helps to open airways and improve blood pressure. Meanwhile, the only method known to prevent a reaction is strict avoidance,” says AAAAI. According to the Academy, six foods are responsible for causing most allergic reactions: milk, eggs, peanuts, wheat, soy and tree nuts, such as walnuts and pecans.
AAAI also states that there are five types of insects who cause the majority of allergic reactions: yellow jackets, honeybees, paper wasps, hornets and fire ants. As with peanuts, fire ants are especially dangerous due to their unsuspecting nature. They sting more than 20 million people each year and more children are stung each year by fire ants than by all other insects combined. Their stings cause itching, burning and pain. “When disturbed, hundreds, sometimes thousands, of ants will attack an intruder, inflicting painful stings that, in the most severe cases, can be life threatening,” says Nate Royalty, Ph.D., entomologist with Bayer Environmental Science. While most stings are treatable, 10-15% of all people can have severe localized allergic reactions to fire ants stings and 1-2% can have systemic allergic reactions, which, in rare cases, result in death. Fire ants currently infest 325 million acres in the U.S., an area larger than the size of Spain and France, combined.
Although there is not preventative treatment for most other allergy-causing insects, there is hope for those located in fire ant infested territory. “We encourage homeowners to talk with professional lawn care and pest control companies to determine if they have a fire ant problem, and investigate control methods. Preventative control methods like TopChoice®, a low-dose, granular insecticide that is spread over lawns and beds like fertilizer, both cures existing mounds and prevents new mounds from forming for one year,” recommends Royalty. TopChoice® is ideal for helping people control the threat and protect fire ants’ most common prey: the elderly, young children, dogs and other outdoor pets. Those allergic should be especially careful during warm weather seasons, when fire ants become increasingly active.
As for those who count the peanut allergy among their enemies, there may be hope. Working with an international research team, Dr. Peter Vadas, director of allergy and clinical immunology at St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto, has recently found that nine people who died of peanut allergies had a significantly lower level of a particular enzyme in their blood. At normal levels, the enzyme breaks down the chemical that causes bronchial spasms, and blood pressure drops during an allergic reaction. The nine who died also showed the expected high levels of the IgE antibodies that are activated in response to an allergen. "To be at risk for fatal peanut anaphylaxis, I think that people need to have (these) two factors come together," Vadas said. "This is clearly not the only reason that a person may be at risk for fatal peanut anaphylaxis, but it is a . . . biochemical abnormality which may allow us to identify at least one subset of patients at risk."
